


Ridiculous Things that Magic Does when You Are in Danger

by WanderingBandurria



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Adventure & Romance, Ambiguous Relationships, Ambiguous/Open Ending, Bisexuality, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/F, First Kiss, Fluff, Getting Together, HP Femslash MiniFest, Harry Potter Epilogue What Epilogue | EWE, Light Angst, Memory Loss, Mild Language, Mystery, Not really but there's a lot of things that Ginny doesn't know, Past Harry Potter/Ginny Weasley, Remembralls (Harry Potter), lockdown - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-24
Updated: 2020-04-24
Packaged: 2021-03-02 05:42:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,408
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23820106
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WanderingBandurria/pseuds/WanderingBandurria
Summary: Ginny wakes up with a soft red light on her face.She knows she needs to remember, but there’s a lot of other pressing things on her mind.Like figuring out where she is, and why is Cho Chang, of all people, taking care of her.
Relationships: Cho Chang/Ginny Weasley
Comments: 10
Kudos: 15
Collections: Marriage Law - Domestic Bliss - Rememberall -March/April 2020





	Ridiculous Things that Magic Does when You Are in Danger

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! I'm so pumped that this MiniFest exists, thank you so much to the Mods! This fic follows the "remembrall" prompt. This ended up being really lighthearted fic, with a big focus on the action/adventure and getting together. Even when it deals with a bit of angst, this is associated with the events in the fic, and not with a process of the characters questioning their sexualities or reflecting about their identities and/or homophobia in our societies. So in this sense, it's just a really fluffy piece. I love to read fluffy - happy - get together's without drama from time to time, so I hope that if you enjoy this type of fics, you enjoy it too!
> 
> Please read the tags before jumping into the fic - there are a couple of things that you might need to take into consideration. First, there are some ambiguous relationships. I promise you that they are clarified by the end of the fic. Second, there's some inspiration in the lockdown/quarantine that a lot of us are living right now. Please, if you are not doing alright (as much as we all can in this context) at the moment, be mindful about your media consumption. In this fic, everything is portrayed in an 'adventure' tone, but you are the best judge about your limits.
> 
> English is not my first language, and even when I try my best to correct my mistakes and get help with my doubts (big shout to N. for the help), there might be some errors. Please, if you notice anything, let me know! please be gentle, but I do love to receive feedback so I can improve my English.
> 
> Aaaand ok, that's about it. I haven't been able to stop thinking about these girls and how their dynamic would work in the last couple of weeks so I hope some of you might enjoy how I ended up shaping their relationship!
> 
> Thank you for reading, and please leave a comment if you have anything to say! I really love to read them and answer anything that you have for me, being that questions, thoughts, your vision of my fic, some corrections on my English, or anything else!

\---

She is falling, her broom a few meters above her, her wand on her hand even when there’s no cushioning charm that can help her from this height. 

_I need someone smart_ , she thinks desperately, _and that can properly fly_. The answer her ridiculous brain provides is _Cho Chang_.

_What the hell_ , she answers herself. She hasn’t spared a thought to the Ravenclaw since the last time she saw her, over five years ago.

And now she is falling through the air and she needs help, and all her brain can provide is ‘Cho Chang’? Oh, she is screwed.

\---

A soft red light wakes her. She tries to turn away from it and then is when she realizes that _everything_ hurts. 

She sits up wincing at the pain that shoots through her body. The light comes from a small remembrall, and it’s the only light in a darkened room that she doesn’t recognize. It’s a nice room, mind you. A bit untidy, with a beautiful painting of sunflowers that are inclined towards the light that filters through the curtains; a chair full of jackets and robes, and some books piled up on a shelf.

_It’s my remembrall_ , her brain provides, unhelpful. She is not sure, but she has the feeling that she is in a feud with her head because it’s not being cooperative enough. 

She stands up slowly. She doesn’t have her robes on, only her jumper and jeans. Her shoes are at the foot of the bed, and her wand is on a small night table. She takes it suspiciously, but nothing feels different than normal. 

She tries to be stealthy, but _everything hurts_ so she is not at her prime. She steps out of the room and is shocked when she gets into a sunny corridor. The last time she was awake, it was dusk. She can hear some noise coming from a room on the other side of the corridor, so she walks towards it. She enters silently into a small kitchen where a woman is with her back turned to the door. Long, black hair falls almost to her waist. 

“Chang?” she asks when the person turns and Ginny gets a glimpse of their face. She tightens her grip on her wand, remembering to stay alert. “What’s going on, where am I?”

The other woman turns slowly, a reassuring, friendly smile on her face. Her hands are raised like she knew that Ginny would be pointing her with her wand.

“Hi, Weasley. I’m not sure what’s going on. You appeared at my front door last night, unconscious and injured. You gave me quite the scare, it took me almost all night to mend you. Now, would you like some tea and a sandwich, so we can figure out what is going on?” She frowns with her hands still raised.

And damn be it, but all her brain provides is _Oh,_ _I never expected to see her in Muggle clothes in such a domestic scene,_ and _she looks nice, though_. 

\---

While the sun is setting, Ginny is feeling dizzy and tired. Cho gives her a small glass of brandy. Ginny absentmindedly registers that she smells like the woods, fresh and comforting. Very delicately, Cho told her that she was almost dead when she found her at her front door. She was blue, asphyxiating; some nasty hex that Cho hadn’t seen before and that she barely managed to break before Ginny stopped breathing altogether. 

“Well,” Ginny starts after emptying the glass. “All I remember is that I needed your help. I’m not sure why. I can only remember thinking that and then waking up in your bedroom.” She frowns, crossing her arms behind her head, wishing she didn’t sound like a crazy person. “So I better go on my way so I can figure things out. Thank you for patching me up, Chang. And for the food. And the brandy” she adds, feeling uncharacteristically awkward. 

“I don’t think you should go,” Cho says, tidying her hair on a bun.

“Well, thank you for your concern, but I feel that, since I almost died in an encounter with someone - or something - that _I don’t remember,_ it’s sort of urgent that I figure out what’s going on, and no offence, but I don’t see how staying here would help me with that.” She knows she’s being a bit brusque and ungrateful with her host, but she is getting restless, and she doesn’t really know how to act around this woman. It’s not like they had any previous relationship that wasn’t some distant politeness given their mutual participation on the DA, and a bit of antagonism, given their relationships with Harry.

She takes her wand out of her sleeve, mutters “Thanks, bye,” and disapparates.

Or that is what she thought would happen, but when she jumps to try to get into the void, thinking of her brother’s home, nothing happens. She falls on the sofa.

“Your magic, Ginevra. I don’t know why, but it’s not properly working” Cho says, not unkindly, refilling her glass.

“Don’t call me Ginevra” she barks before she can think about it. She lowers her head on her hands, sighs, takes the glass and sips on it. “I hate it, Ginny is okay. Do you have an owl, a phone, or something I can use to contact my family?”

Well, Cho has an owl _and_ a phone, but the owl returns with the letter untouched and refuses to go out again to try to find someone else. Ginny tries to call everyone she knows the phone number of; Hermione and Ron, Harry, and, even in her desperation, Dean Thomas. Nobody picks up.

She can see how Cho starts to worry at this too, but after trying to call people for over two hours, Ginny is too exhausted to care, her neck hurting like hell. So, begrudgingly, she accepts Cho’s offer to stay at her guestroom for the night.

\---

The next morning Ginny wakes up feeling less like crap. Cho is already at the small dining table when she gets out of the shower in a pair of Cho’s robes that are a bit too tight on her waist and too long over her feet, but that’ll have to do for now.

Cho has a full breakfast made for the two of them. She is frowning while reading the newspaper.

“So, the Ministry informed in the Prophet that we are on lockdown because of some _magical disturbances_. Fuckers didn’t care to send a message to every witch and wizard, nor to explain anything else,” she says, tossing the paper to Ginny’s side of the table.

Ginny chokes on her toast, making Cho laugh and then try to apologize while _still laughing_. In the end, Cho has to hit her with a spell to help with the ball of bread on her throat.

“Didn’t think you cursed,” Ginny grumbles, hiding behind the paper.

“Mh, didn’t use to. When you hang out with Muggles, you tend to catch it.”

“Uh,” says Ginny, unsure of how to respond to the personal information. She focuses on reading the paper, so they go silent for a couple of minutes until she tosses it to the side, angrily.

“Well, yeah, you were right. Nothing useful there. And my magic is still not working” she adds, after taking her wand out and trying to burn the paper, unsuccessfully.

“Felicity won’t get out either. I don’t know if she’s sensing something, or if the Ministry put some kind of barrier, although I doubt that, since this is a Muggle neighbourhood. Any clue after your sleep? Any new memory of what happened during your attack?”

Ginny is a bit confused for a second before remembering that Felicity is Cho’s owl. Only then she processes the questions, and it’s already a few seconds too long to make the pause feel natural.

“No, no spirit came to my aid in the night, I’m afraid.” She says, trying to be funny and push through the awkwardness she’s feeling. “So what, do you think there’s really something going on, or is this some Ministry’s bullshit?”

“Mh. I think it’s something that got out of the Ministry’s control. I’m inclined to believe that something weird is going on since it’s not every day that I get an unexpected magical guest that arrives barely alive and needs my help but doesn’t remember why. Not when I’ve been barely noticeable in the magical world for at least three years.”

“Okay.” Ginny pushes down the curiosity that these references to Cho’s life spark on her. “So, options. Can you send a Patronus to search for my brother, please? Or can you apparate me to my parents’ home?”

Cho looks down, and for the first time since she saw her in school, there’s some vulnerability in her.

“I can’t make a Patronus.”

“Oh,” Ginny suddenly understands and wants to hit her head on the table. Cho had managed a Patronus during school, but she probably lost a lot of people during the war and evoking happiness might be harder now. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. It’s okay, there are other areas of magic that I still excel on. And about apparating you” she looks at Ginny in the eyes, and Ginny valiantly battles the need to squirm, looking back resolutely. “I won’t do it. Not yet. You need to recover a bit more because if there’s something going on, we’ll need you to have some magic to defend yourself. I won’t risk being intercepted mid-apparition, having the full responsibility to take us to destiny _and_ defend us. As soon as you are better, I’ll help you find your family. Don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll get your magic back in no time.”

Ginny grumbles and just lets her head fall back, pissed off. She understands, of course she does, but this is so uncomfortable. There are so many elephants in the room that she doesn’t want to talk about that the prospect of spending more time with Cho is almost unbearable.

\---

Time goes by quickly during the afternoon while they try to get more information about the current situation through the wireless, the muggle telly, and some weird thing called _the internet_ , but nothing. In the wireless they repeat over and over that everyone has to stay home and that the Ministry is working to return things to normal, but no details are given. The Muggle world doesn’t report anything weird going on. _At least the statute of secrecy hasn’t been broken_ , Ginny thinks.

They have tea when it’s already dark outside, defeated. Without much to talk about, Ginny can’t hold her curiosity anymore.

“So, you mention being somewhat under the radar of the magical folk for a while. What happened?”

“I married a muggle.”

“Oh.”

“I divorced him too, so you don’t have to worry about disrupting our life. Already done.”

Shit, if this isn’t the definition of awkwardness, Ginny doesn’t know what is.

“So, since we are already in personal topics, why send a Patronus to your brother and not your boyfriend?”

“Well, I don’t know for sure, because of the, you know, ‘being hit by a memory charm or something like that’- thing, but… Well, there’s something in me that tells me that things are not peachy at the moment with Harry. I’m not sure if we are still together.”

“Oh.”

Ginny just shrugs. 

“So, you play for the Harpies, do you remember that?”

They laugh.

“Yeah, of course. Wouldn’t forget about it for a second of my life.”

They start talking about Quidditch then, and Ginny is surprised at how easy things start to flow. Cho has kept a close eye in Ginny’s career, and Ginny is pleased to talk about it. 

Without meaning to, they stay until after midnight talking and drinking tea. Ginny asks Cho about her life amongst Muggles and her career, and is surprised that Cho didn’t choose to go to sports journalism since she had an offer to cover Quidditch in Bulgaria. Cho laughs and talks about how hard was to make sense of her life after the war, and that she’s happy now working as a healer for both Muggles and wizards, mixing techniques, and having a quiet life surrounded by her plants. 

By the end of the night, Ginny feels kind of lucky to end up at Cho’s, having this opportunity to change her vision about her. She feels warm and comforted in these uncertain times. She doesn’t know if they’ll end up as friends after this, but at least some ghosts from the past are starting to fade away.

She only feels a small pang of uncomfortness when she arrives at the guest room and sees the remembrall still shining. _Later_ , she thinks. 

She can rest for now, before searching for her magic and answers.

\---

“I did it! I managed to levitate the cushion!”

“That’s great, Weasley. Call me when you manage to do the couch.”

“Agh, you can be pretty... unpleasant, you know?”

“An asshole, I think is the word you were looking for, Weasley. And yes, I can be. I’m definitely _not_ the sweet princess that a lot of people thought I was during Hogwarts.” The _that Harry thought I was,_ goes implicit, and Ginny can feel the tension in her body again, one of the big elephants in the room stomping loudly in the silence. Cho doesn’t look affected at all. It’s like she doesn’t feel the _taboo_. She just smiles sweetly at Ginny. “I won’t take a burden” she points at Ginny, who huffs incensed, all her discomfort forgotten, “to a potentially suicidal mission in a scenario we know nothing about. So you better keep practising until you can at least repel an adult person. I know you’ll manage soon enough, I’ve seen how talented you are and how hard you work.”

“Don’t try to sweet-talk me, Chang. And as soon as I levitate the couch we are out of here, okay?”

“Of course, Ginny.”

\---

Ginny’s hand is a sweaty mess when she grabs Cho’s elbow to side apparate. “Sorry,” she mutters when she sees the stain she’s leaving on Cho’s robe, but Cho just does a dismissive gesture with her other hand, her eyes closed. She’s been concentrating for a long time, getting ready in case they are intercepted or find wards at the Burrow. 

“Ready?”

“Born ready.”

And they get into the void.

Ginny tries to keep her senses as open as possible. She doesn’t feel any pull or other sign that there are wards or that they are being tracked, but her magic is still in a shitty condition, bearly comparable to a Hogwarts’ first year.

The silence is the first thing that alerts Ginny. She recognizes immediately the yellowish-brown earth of her childhood home at her feet, and something squeezes on her chest, the happy memories mixing with fear.

“Is this your parents’ home? Did I get us to the right place?”

“Yes, it is. Something’s wrong though, it’s too quiet.”

“I’ll stay here keeping guard, you go inside, see if you find anyone.”

Ginny nods. There’s something wrong in the house, but she can’t put her finger on it. It’s like something is missing, like there are _fewer_ rooms than before. She can’t be sure though, she hasn’t visited home for a few months. 

She enters the house after showing the password spell to the door. The kitchen is empty, no sign of anyone having used it recently. It doesn’t look like the place was attacked nor that her parents left in a hurry; it’s just empty like nobody has lived there in months. She goes room by room, and it’s the same. She gets to Ron’s former room, and in there she realizes one of the things that are off.

She can’t hear the ghoul. There’s no sound in the house. No rattling, no moaning.

She goes back down and straight to the yard.

“There’s no one here,” she tells Cho, and she can hear the note of desperation in her voice.

Cho puts a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

“We’ll find them, Ginny.”

Ginny nods and takes a few deep breaths to calm herself down.

“Can you take me to Ron’s now?”

Cho nods. They have studied maps and images of all her relatives’ houses so that Cho could apparate them. Fingers crossed, they won't splinch this time either.

“Yeah, no problem. Hold on.”

They get to Ron’s and Hermione’s home safely, but Ginny feels a chill all over her back upon setting foot on the front porch. There’s something wrong, now she is sure.

She tries to get into the house, but the doorknob lets her know with its posh voice that there’s no one home and that the password was changed, so Ginny is not allowed in now. Then it blows a raspberry. It’s a very inconsiderate door, she always thought so, but now is being plainly insensitive in these hard times.

“I can’t get in. Let’s go to my brothers’ shop in Diagon Alley.” She feels dizzy, her magic draining from her body, but she needs to keep trying until she finds someone, _anyone,_ from her family, or her friends… anyone from her life.

Cho looks at her for a few seconds.

“You don’t look good, Ginny. Are you sure you don’t prefer to go back to my house, keep searching tomorrow?”

“I’m _fine_ ,” she aims to reassure Cho, but as she speaks, her vision goes black. She stumbles, trying to grab a hold on one of the poles of the porch, but everything is spinning. She fumbles for a second, unable to see anything, and she falls forward.

Cho catches her. She almost collapses with Ginny’s weight but manages to stay put. 

“I’m taking you back home, okay? We’ll figure things out from there, make a plan. Don’t worry, we’ll find a way.” Her hand on Ginny’s hair is soothing and her soft tone helps, even when Ginny is shaking. She feels so stupid, so weak. She _knows_ she overexerted her body, that having a magic blocking curse _and_ a memory charm means she is _actually_ weak right now, even if she tries to deny it. She still wants to get over this dizziness and go and throw some bludgers against a tree or, even better, some former death eater. Knock some teeth down, that’s what she needs to get her magic back.

Her body doesn’t seem to agree with her desires, because she can’t even manage to make words come out of her mouth, and her eyes close on her own. She can feel Cho trying to shift her weight on her arms to get a good grab, muttering all the time things that sound like _I’m here, we’ll get through this, you’ll be fine_. Then, they are back in the void of apparition. 

With a huff, Cho drags her to the bed, where Ginny loses her consciousness as soon as her face touches the duvet. 

\---

Ginny wakes up with the soft red glow of her remembrall and the soothing sound of someone humming a song. _Maybe it’s a spell_ , her mind tries to put together. A soft hand is on her cheek and a wet cloth over her forehead, calming the last remains of fever that she can still feel on her body. 

She wants to sit up but can’t, so she lets herself be lulled back to sleep by the warmth of the magic that comes out of that hand.

The next time she wakes up, she is alone. She sits up fast. _It’s daytime again_ she realizes, and curses softly. 

In the kitchen, she finds Cho.

“Hey.”

“Ginny,” she almost drops the potatoes on her hands. “How are you feeling? Do you want some tea, something to eat while I make lunch?”

“Tea would be great.”

Ginny is still weak, her mind sluggish, but she still needs to figure things out. The sharp pain in her chest at the thought of her family eggs her on.

While Cho cuts some apples and oranges and pours some tea for her, they round up what they gathered. The two empty houses. The lack of signs of battle. The lack of information on the Ministry’s side. 

By the time they are having lunch, they are circling the same information with no breakthroughs. 

“Well, we should investigate your friends’ homes next. I mean, as soon as you are strong enough” Cho tells her with a small smile while serving the tea. “I reckon it’s the next logical step. I don’t want to go to Diagon Alley unless we are out of options. We can’t forget the Ministry’s lockdown. If they catch us this might be over, since we don’t know who attacked you. If the war taught us anything, is that, under a crisis, we can’t trust the Ministry to remain a safe place for too long.”

Ginny nods, feeling a huge lump on her throat. She wants Cho to stop looking at her like that, with all that _pity_ and _softness._

“Yeah. I bet we’ll find Harry. Or Luna. They’ll tell us where my family is. Or at least, Luna will have a crazy plan that might save the day.”

Cho smiles at her.

“She was always brilliant, I bet she’ll figure out what to do. And hey, at least this little adventure allowed me to meet your parent’s kneazle. Such a cute little thing…” she laughs.

Ginny feels coldness washing over her.

“What?”

Cho goes still, understanding the tone.

“There was - well, there was a kneazle outside of your parents’ house. A big, greyish-blue one, with yellow eyes and a white, heart-shaped mark on its chest? I didn’t think it mattered, kneazles are quite independent so I thought it might have been away when your family left…” Cho pauses, some horror leaking on her expression. She is rubbing her hands, shaking slightly. “I’m so sorry Ginny, I should have mentioned it before.” 

Ginny goes quiet for a few seconds, searching on her faulty memory.

“Do you think it was an Animagus? or an animal trained to spy?” Cho asks, paling.

“No, I don’t think so.” She tries to phrase the next idea without sounding like a crazy person, but she gives up. She gulps, looking into Cho’s eyes. “I think it was my mom’s kneazle. It died over 40 years ago, though.”

There’s a long silence.

“Please don’t think I’m crazy” Ginny mutters, looking to the fireplace, feeling herself getting red. Damn, this is not the time to feel self-conscious. _Who cares_ if Cho thinks she’s crazy? Not her, for sure.

“Okay. I don’t think you are crazy, I’m just… shocked. So, what the hell do you think is going on?” Cho says.

“I have no idea.”

After a beat of ominous silence, they start laughing, desperation mixing in Ginny’s tears.

\---

A few days later, they apparate to Harry’s. Then to Luna’s. Desperation bubbles on Ginny’s blood, and she feels like she’s the only person left in the world. Well, she and Cho Chang, for some weird reason. 

Cho looks terrified but determined when Ginny begs her to go to Diagon Alley. She’s still too weak to try to apparate by herself. Cho hasn’t suggested even once to wait for Ginny to fully recover so that she would go on her mission alone. Even more, when Ginny suggested a few nights ago that Cho might want to back off, Cho got quite angry and countered, with her chin up in the air, that she wouldn’t, unless Ginny forced her to. She added that, as Ginny already knew, not only Gryffindor’s where willing to help others and put themselves at risk. Ginny had just lowered her head, a smile escaping her in spite of herself.

Things got strangely intimate after that. Not only they talked about this weird situation, but they also talked about Harry - of all things, _Harry Potter_ -. Ginny opened up without even thinking about it, reflecting on how hard it was to keep a relationship based on who they were when kids and on both of them understanding how hurt the other was. And how much more painful it could be in the end, both of them building walls that neither dared to try to touch after a few heated arguments at the beginning of their relationship. 

She apologized to Cho for how she had treated her during school and the war because of her jealousy. Cho laughed, mentioning that when Harry and Ginny had gotten together, it was hard for her too. She added that the world was set for girls to hate each other because of boys, and it wasn’t until she got close to new friends in the Muggle world that she learned how twisted up all of that was. Ginny thought that she hadn’t learnt about it until this week, by being forced to stay with Cho.

They talked about the Chamber of the Secrets, to Ginny’s horror. She hadn’t realized when she started speaking about it, but she did, sobbing as an eleven-year-old again, unpacking her fears about being _evil_ , about being _used_ , about never being _enough._

Cho talked about her divorce, Cedric and Marietta. She was calm while talking about Cedric, even when her eyes were sad. She had had more time to process it, even when she didn’t have much support or empathy after the first few weeks of the next school year. She was calm when she talked about her divorce because it was a well-thought decision, almost free of drama (at least on her side; she mentioned, laughing, how her ex tried to stay put on the house, and how a simple spell put him back on the street). Even when it was one-sided, she had taken the decision having each other’s happiness in mind. 

But Marietta.

Marietta was an open wound. She remembered how she defended her, how guilty she felt later, and how, with the years, she had to learn to forgive herself for everything that happened. Marietta was there for her when Cedric died, so it was hard for Cho to understand that her “mistake” with the DA was serious enough, and spoke not only of her position on the war but also about the value she put on Cho’s safety. She talked about how hard was to break that friendship and how that made her reach for the Muggle world, where she met amazing people. Her voice trembled and she looked genuinely upset with herself. Ginny found her rage and contempt that had always coated her vision of Cho vanishing, forgiveness washing over her.

Not that she excused Marietta at all. But neither did Cho anymore.

They had numerous talks like that during the days of Ginny’s recovery. One afternoon after one of those conversations, Ginny was on the backyard, splayed under the sun, trying to gather her magic, when Cho sat on the grass at her side, waving her wand to imbue some of her plants with her magic. They stood in comfortable silence for a long time, and Ginny had been dozing off when Cho asked if she could braid her hair. Ginny accepted - not sure why, she usually would have asked the person to go to hell - and moved her head in Cho’s lap, even more shocked with what she was doing. Her heartbeat was loud on her chest, probably because she had never physically approached someone she barely knew. Cho didn’t say anything but combed her hair with her fingers for a long time before tidying it in three sections and braiding it.

From then on, they had gotten more physical, Cho putting a reassuring hand on Ginny’s back when they talked about her family or when she tried to recover some of her memories; Ginny dared to touch Cho’s shiny hair when she was reading some books that they thought might help them with the time distortion (they didn’t), and both of them making excuses to lay on each other’s legs when they were on the couch. They even hugged briefly after having a small duel-like exchange of spells to try Ginny’s strength. It was awkward and sweaty and _fucking amazing_. And as always, Cho looked unfazed, a sweet smile on her lips while she complimented Ginny’s recovery.

So now they were in Diagon Alley, Cho pale with the effort to keep her focus after the third apparition carrying Ginny. Ginny had felt a weird pull in the void, but she is not sure what it meant, so she just breathes to calm herself down. _It was nothing, it was probably Cho getting her determination back or something like that_ , she tries to convince herself. _If someone followed us, they’d be here already,_ so she stays quiet.

Diagon Alley is empty, they realize after a short recognition round. Ginny wants to scream, feeling like she is completely losing it. She knows that the Ministry set a lockdown, but given that Cho and she have been able to apparate to different places, she’s sure there are no wards or measures to stop people from moving, so it’s not like wizards _can’t_ be here - and she is sure that given the possibility, some of them would be here. There’s no way that no one would defy the ministry; not after the Wizarding Wars.

“Come on, Ginny, let’s go. We shouldn’t stay in the same place for too long” Cho urges her, pushing her elbow.

Ginny snaps out of it, tightens her grip on her wand and walks side by side with Cho towards her brothers’ store. 

When they get in front of it, Ginny barely registers the sign that says that it’s close before Cho screams “Ginny!” and a purple light buzzes by her side.

She turns fast, Cho trying to put herself between Ginny and their attacker. And then, everything gets more messed up on her mind because in front of them is an Auror. 

Or at least someone dressed as one. But not as a modern Auror - oh, no, the person is dressed as an 1800’s Auror, with a puffy robe with lace neckline and sleeves. Not that wizards fashion has changed that much, but there are some clear signs, if Ginny’s memory of History of Magic isn’t failing her.

“Come on, we need to get out of here!” Ginny yells, pulling Cho’s hand. 

Cho just nods, sending a freezing charm to the out-of-place Auror, and runs.

They can feel the hexes buzzing at their sides. They can’t get out of Diagon Alley unless they apparate - the leaky cauldron wall is closed, they already checked when they arrived - and for that, Cho needs a second to gather her breath, which the fucking kind-of-Auror is not giving to them.

“Stop it, you outdated asshole!” Ginny yells and gathering all her magic, tries to cast a spell. She needs something easy and effective because she knows her magic is limited. To her surprise, she manages to hit their follower, who shoots into the sky with a loud yelp.

“Now, Cho!” she yells.

Cho turns, her eyes ablaze, full of determination, and hugs Ginny tightly. Ginny only has a second to put her arms around Cho’s waist and dig her nose on her shoulder to try to prevent the nausea that is about to come. 

Now she is sure she can feel the pull of a trace.

Before she can think of anything else, they are landing in the pavement of a dirty alleyway a few blocks away from the Leaky. Cho grabs her hand and breaks into a run again.

“They are following us!” Ginny yells.

“I know!” Cho screams back. “We can’t use magic to escape or they’ll find us!”

“What can we do?” she easily keeps Cho’s pace as she tries to elaborate a plan. 

“We are taking the Tube, hope you have your Oyster card!” Cho laughs breathless.

“My what?” Ginny grins to her for a split of a second, before feeling an ominous chill on her back, her expression going sour again.

“Come on, faster!”

They get to the closest stairs and run down as fast as they can without breaking their necks. Of course, Ginny doesn’t have a card, but there’s nothing that a quick spell by Cho can’t manage. 

Ginny regathers her breathe only when they are already on the train, still holding hands with Cho. She looks at her; she seems exhausted and worried.

Ginny laughs, and it sounds empty and grim.

“I have no idea what just happened, but thank you, Cho. I owe you”

Cho smiles and does a dismissive gesture with her hand before taking it to her chest, rolling her eyes, and taking a few dramatic gulps of air.

Ginny laughs again, this time honestly, feeling part of the fear and horror leaving her, her mind clearing just enough so she can think something else than _I’m going to die_ and _where the fuck is my family_ and _is everyone dead?_

What her genius brain provides is _Goddess, how brilliant is Cho?_

Bloody hell, what’s _wrong_ with her brain.

\---

They arrive at Cho’s sweating and exhausted. Cho goes to reinforce the wards while Ginny rests for a bit on the couch. She is gathering the strength to get into the kitchen to make something for dinner when a memory strikes her.

She was falling from her broom. She thought of Cho because she needed someone that could _fly a broom_.

As soon as she remembers, she feels despondent. It’s such a trivial memory, such a silly piece of information…

Except that maybe it’s not.

“Cho!” she almost yells as soon as the other woman enters the house. “I remembered something. It sounds really stupid, but I have the feeling that it might be important. I was on my broom when I was attacked. I thought about you because you could fly well enough. ”

She can see Cho’s confusion, and she knows she sounds silly, but Cho’s face quickly changes into a pleased smile.

“Okay, we can work with that.”

\---

Days pass by quickly then, and without realizing it, a week goes by after their incident in Diagon Alley. They've been researching about time disturbances and brooms, and somehow, Ginny feels that they are _so_ close, and yet, not quite there. 

They figure out that, even when you can charm a broom quite easily, they are pretty immune to random influxes of magic, even when they are not quite sure what could be classified as such. As far as they have gathered, it appears that in some areas around the world and in some historical moments, a concentration of magic might occur, not cast by any wizard, witch, or magic creature. Just random magic in the air that disturbs everything. 

It appeared that, in some historical moments, some wizards had used those concentrations to their benefit, like Alexander the Great. At least that’s what they have gathered from their readings, but most of their references to this wild magic are from Alexander’s story. It’s probably as good as they’ll get since it’s not like Cho has books devoted to magical disturbances.

Ginny is laying on her belly, reading yet another book on Quidditch to try and find a clue that might explain why she was on her broom and needed someone that could fly - she is still amazed that she thought of Cho, of all people, when she literally works with exceptional witches that can fly like no one; and also Harry is an excellent flyer... but well, there are more pressing mysteries at the moment. All that she and Cho could think about it is that maybe everyone else in Ginny’s life was already tangled in this mess, so she needed someone from the outside. Not very convincing, but they are going with it, as they don’t have other ideas. Ginny is quite convinced that at least her family and friends are involved somehow: She is sure that the charm to Hermione’s and Ron’s door would fall if something bad happened to them so that their families could access the house. She thinks that the Weasley password on the Burrow might have a similar effect if her mom and dad were out of battle. These ideas are the only thing keeping her from losing her mind while they come up with a plan.

Cho is with her in the living room, her head on the small back of Ginny, tracing patterns with her wand, trying to process the “random magic” concept and make some sense out of everything.

“Okay. So, for some reason, you needed to get to _someplace_ in your broom because it wouldn’t be as affected by this magic pulse, that we are assuming, might be occurring, causing the time disturbances, like your mom’s Kneazle. Then, you were attacked while flying, so we can probably infer that you were targeted for a particular reason and by a person, or a group of people, that wanted to prevent you from arriving at your destination. Your main concern at the moment was that someone could fly a broom, probably to follow up your mission, so you might have been carrying a message or a magical object. Either way, it was important enough to not only try and kill you by throwing you from your broom, block your magic and try to asphyxiate you, but to also modify your memory, even when we are not sure of the order of those events. They might have been fighting you to try to wipe your memory, and in the process, knocked you down; and your magic being erratic might be an effect of the magic concentration.”

Ginny hums softly, barely listening as Cho tries to order their conclusion for the thousandth time.

“We can’t be sure about the old fashioned Auror thought. Maybe it was an expression of time disturbances. Or maybe the Auror is the one who attacked you, and only the clothes are old fashioned. Maybe is some kind of uniform. We still should stay away from the Ministry, just in case.”

Ginny hums again and sighs, trying to stretch her neck that is starting to hurt giving the position she’s in. She hasn’t moved in a few hours; she doesn’t want Cho’s moving her head off her back, and doesn’t want her stretch to be interpreted as an indication for that. But her neck is really hurting, so, with all her Quidditch gracefulness, she manages to squirm enough so that Cho gets the message to raise her head, and then she turns. Cho just puts her head back down, now in Ginny’s stomach. Ginny levitates the book over her face to keep reading, turning the pages with her wand. Her other hand goes to Cho’s hair, sinking in it. Ginny’s heart starts beating fast when Cho merely sighs, turns her head in Ginny’s direction, and smiles. Ginny is dumbfounded. Cho just closes her eyes and they stay like that for what feels like at least half an hour.

Ginny clears her throat to try to recover some sense.

“So, if you had to take a guess, where would you say I was supposed to go, and why?”

“Oh, I have no idea. But I’m inclined to think that you were probably carrying a message. Maybe to alert someone, or to set a gathering point. It would explain the memory charm. Although…”

Cho cuts herself and sits up abruptly. Reluctantly, Ginny sits up too.

“Your remembrall.”

Ginny is confused, but she has learnt to wait for Cho to gather her thoughts.

“Maybe…” she says, more uncertain now, “maybe you were carrying it for a reason? Maybe you knew you might be attacked with a memory charm or that you might be at risk of forgetting things? Maybe you took it with you and modified it to convey some message, or to help you remember something specific?”

“Well,” Ginny wants to be excited, to put all her hopes in this, she really does, but she can’t stop herself from stating every fact, just so they don’t get too invested with a theory. “It might have something to do with this mess, but it’s not like it’s unusual that I carry my remembrall. I usually have it with me, because with all the work with the Harpies, I tend to forget some social commitments.” A memory strikes her; Harry is looking disappointed and angry, the door of his flat barely open. Ginny is in the hallway, telling him that she _has a job and she just forgot, so can you please stop being an asshole?_ “Might be the reason why things are going to hell with Harry…” she adds, sad, looking to the ground.

A soft hand touches her cheek, making her look up. Cho is very close, her index tracing her cheekbone. Ginny’s brain abandons her altogether.

“I’m sorry, Ginny. It’s worth the shot though, don’t you think?”

She just looks down and nods.

When she looks back up, she can see Cho swallowing hard. For the first time, she looks a bit out of her depth and it takes her a few seconds to talk again.

“Do you mind if we check it?”

Ginny nods and shakes her head. Then she decides to get up and just go to the guest room to look for the small crystal ball.

When she gets back, Cho is on her feet, all business. They cast revealing spells, but nothing. Cho starts to get desperate, Ginny can see it now.

And then Ginny gets an idea out of nowhere and says “Expecto Patronum!” while thinking of these days with Cho, the smell of her hair, her smile, the weight of her head on her shoulder, the warmth of her hand on hers.

The silver horse that gets out of her wand bows to her before approaching the red ball that is on the couch. It touches the crystal with its nose and starts being pulled into it, until only a silver mist is left behind.

The remembrall changes colour to a milky white, and a pattern, like a puzzle, appears inside of it.

“You did it!” Cho yells and hugs her. “I knew you could do it. There’s something in there, no doubt. Now we just need to figure out what it is.”

She takes a step back, grabbing Ginny by the shoulders, still smiling at her. So Ginny does the only thing that she can think of. She looks at Cho’s eyes, her lips, and her eyes again, and leans over.

She kisses Cho.

And it’s weird because it should be awkward; years of bad blood between them and only a couple of weeks of getting to know each other, but yet, it feels just right. 

And it’s just a peck, and Ginny already feels the cold sweat on her back, because, _Woah_ , maybe she misunderstood all this situation and Cho hasn’t been flirting and maybe she just lost her only ally in this situation and -

Cho kisses her, after looking in her eyes with an intensity that Ginny hadn’t seen in her before. Ginny feels an electric shock on her back and feels desperation and desire bubble inside of her. She takes Cho’s face with her hands, touching her from the neck to her hair, to her cheeks, and back to her nape. 

Cho is like the forest, like her plants, like the wind; fresh and strong in a way that people usually aren’t and in a way that is mostly invisible. Life and magic pulse through her blood, and when she puts her arms around Ginny’s neck she is as confident as Ginny has come to know her. 

Cho’s lips are soft, and her tongue tangles insistently with hers. Ginny feels so warm, so hot, and wants so much - She wants to touch Cho so badly, that she is having problems making one decision at the time, just one, so she can then do all the other things. So she just sighs happily and smiles faintly between kisses when Cho takes the initiative to dictate the rhythm. Ginny still tries to be lined up with Cho from head to toes, and pushes against her, her hands sinking on Cho’s hair.

\---

They had kissed for hours, stumbling to the couch where they laid on a heap. Ginny had been trembling most of the time, and she had felt Cho shaking slightly too when Ginny’s fingers touched her waist under her shirt. 

Cho had intertwined her fingers with Ginny’s and pulled her on a hug before saying that they should probably get some sleep, so they could figure out the remembrall in the morning. Ginny nodded and kissed her just one more time before laughing and saying “okay, okay, we’ll figure _this_ out later,” she replied, pointing between themselves. She was a brave Gryffindor after all, and wasn’t going to let things go to hell before they even started just because they didn’t talk about it.

Cho nodded at that, giving her sweet little smile, and, after sitting up and taking a deep breath, started giggling. 

“We are so close, Ginny. We’ll figure everything out. We’ll get you to your family.”

And with that, Cho had squeezed her fingers and muttered “good night”, left a barely-there kiss on her lips and went to sleep.

Ginny had gone to bed too, but two hours later, she still can't sleep. She gives up and sits on the bed, taking the white remembrall from the night table. She throws it in the air and catches it back distractedly. She does it a few more times before the light inside of it starts to get more intense.

She blinks, surprised. She takes it closer to her face, and she can feel it getting warmer until it’s the same temperature as her skin. 

A thread of silver comes out of the ball, connecting directly to her forehead.

She remembers all, in the middle of the night, alone on the bed of Cho Chang’s spare bedroom.

Harry called her after they broke up to ask her to meet with him at Hogwarts. Actually, he summoned all the Weasleys, as well as other former allies of the Order of the Phoenix. Not everyone arrived at Hogwarts though, because some were attacked on their way to the school. Ginny was one of them, barely managing to escape. All her family arrived without problem, thank Merlin.

A group of Ministry’s officers, Hermione and Harry amongst them, explained that a new group of wizards and witches from all across Europe were trying to make a ‘revolution’, and echoing Grindelwald’s ideals, intended to end the statute of secrecy by taking advantage of the historical concentrations of wild magic.

But somehow, this group had already managed to muck things up. They didn’t know how to guide the wild magic, so all sorts of weird time and space abnormalities were occurring.

While they talked, the sound of explosions interrupted them. One of the Aurors that was guarding the grounds ran in, yelling that the Battle of Hogwarts was happening again.

The people from the Ministry guided them to the dungeons, from where they had an under-the-lake route to put them on safe houses, where they were supposed to stay while working on a solution to this mess.

A miserable week later, the feeble attempt at a third Order of the Phoenix barely managed to stick together. No one was sure of what to do, no research seeming to give hope.

One day, Harry and Hermione called her, only her, and explained the broom business. They needed her to go to the Ministry so that she could retrieve a magical object - a magic container or something like that, they didn’t explain much, but said that it might help to contain the malfunctions so that they could focus on fighting the wizards and not the time jumps. They needed her because of her flying abilities, her duelling, and because no one involved with the Ministry could do it. This mission _technically_ implied steal the artifact, so any Ministry’s officer might be detected too quickly, their magical credentials too easy to spot. They promised to leave the road open for Ginny, taking care that no one could trace her back. Harry didn’t look happy that it wasn’t him the one doing the work, but apparently, they didn’t have much of a choice. 

Hermione had charmed her remembrall so it could help her to recover some key memories because the rebels had been known for using memory charms. Hermione’s logic had been that in case she lost her memories, Ginny would try to send a Patronus asking for help, which would guide her in the process of recovering her memory. She also charmed the remembrall so that it would operate as a key for some parts of the Ministry; that way, she wouldn’t have to memorize password spells or other instructions about the place of the location of the container. 

So, after her Patronus, she just needed to keep the crystal on her hands to release a copy of her memories. Easy peasy.

Well, except that they didn’t count with her magic taking her to Cho’s front steps, didn’t they?

Ginny lets herself fall on the bed, exhausted with the influx of magic. 

She makes a quick decision.

\---

On the morning, Cho wakes to find her broom stolen, her door charmed to be locked, and a small vial next to a letter that explains that these are Ginny’s memories of these days with Cho, which she erased from her own mind so, in case she gets caught, they can’t be used against her, and so that no one can track Cho to hurt her.

_Please don’t hate me_ , adds the letter, and at the end says _please find me and return this to me when this is over_ and added hastily after that, _if you want to._

\---

Five months later, Ginny has just slipped on a fresh robe after a shower - it was a long, _long_ Quidditch match, so Ginny needed a long, _long_ shower - when someone knocks on her door.

Cho Chang is on her hallway, smiling softly, muttering “Hello, Weasley,” before extending her hand to give her a small vial with a silver liquid, adding “I believe this is yours.”

To her surprise, her remembrall starts glowing red in the coffee table in that exact moment.

\---

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading, I really hope you enjoyed this!
> 
> I took the freedom to change the way that remembralls work in the books - glowing when they are touched - for dramatic effects, so I hope it didn't bothered much your reading. Let's justify this with Hermione's spells.
> 
> So, now that is not a spoiler, this was partly inspired by WizardsUnite, which I played for exactly 45 minutes. And there’s some Avatar: The Last Airbender on it too because I just rewatched it and loved it all over again.
> 
> Please leave a comment if you can! it would mean the world to me, especially as I don't know if there are much people around the world that enjoy this ship too. Even if you don't but you just enjoyed the fic, it would be lovely to know that.


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